Always and Forever
by quietandsneaky
Summary: When Wilson's adopted daughter falls deathly ill, House takes the case. He and Wilson think back on how she came into their lives. *Complete*
1. Disclaimer

Title: Always and Forever

Date Completed: 7-2-2014

Category: TV Shows-House M.D.

Genre: General-Family

Characters: House and Wilson

Summary: When Wilson's adopted daughter falls deathly ill, House takes the case while Wilson thinks back on how she came into his life.

Disclaimer: I do not own the show House, or the characters of House and Wilson. Nor do I own the other characters from the show that make a brief appearance here in the story.

A/N: I do, however, own the character of Marina Wilson, and I intend to use her and the backstory presented here in other stories.

This is one of my first multi chapter stories, and my first ever for House. For the symptoms presented in the story, I used WebMd in an attempt to make it more realistic, but keep in mind that I am NOT a doctor, and therefore can't be expected to be 100% accurate.

All the flashbacks in this story are presented in _italics._

This is the first story I've completed in a while, so I would appreciate any non destructive reviews. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 1

Marina sighed and gave up her argument. She sat back in the front seat and let her father continue driving her to the hospital. In frustration, she looked out the window in order to avoid talking to him. Wilson was quick, though. Marina normally talked the entire trip to school, sometimes to the point that Wilson savored the silence on the half mile journey from there to the hospital. Wilson slowed down a little, but continued a quick pace to the hospital.

"I'm sorry, honey. I know you don't want to go to the hospital, but…" Wilson started.

"But you want to make sure I'm okay." Marina finished, slowly.

"Yeah." Wilson whispered, defeated.

Marina turned to him. "Dad, every time, every time I start to feel even a little sick you drag me to the hospital. It doesn't do anything but make me feel worse."

Wilson struggled to find a response, but he knew she was right. Wilson knew that he was overprotective of Marina, but, given her history, he usually felt he had no choice. He knew it scared her and he knew it was usually unnecessary, but…Wilson stopped. He knew that he was making excuses. He pulled into his parking spot at the hospital, stopped the car, and turned to look at Marina.

"I'll tell you what. I'll take you to House. If he thinks I'm freaking out over nothing, I'll set you up in my office, I'll check on my patients, and we'll go home. Two, three hours tops."

Marina eyed him suspiciously. "Really?"

"Cross my heart." Wilson said, putting his hand over his heart to seal the deal.

Marina smiled. "Deal."

Wilson got out of the car and walked around, opening Marina's door for her. Despite his effort to keep up a good attitude for Marina, he was worried about her. She had a runny nose and fever of almost 100. She was pale. She had been coughing and sneezing for a couple days. Her eyes looked bloodshot, which until this morning, Wilson had believed was a result of her not sleeping well. Marina got out of the car and followed him into the hospital, into the elevator, and finally, into House's office. House was sitting at his desk, playing with his tennis ball when she and Wilson walked in. Wilson stood behind her as she took one of the chairs in front of House's desk.

"You look like crap." House said matter-of-factly.

"So do you." Marina replied without missing a beat, making House smile.

"What's up?" House asked.

Marina looked up to Wilson, who deferred the story to her. "Tell him."

"I've been sick." Marina started. "I've had a runny nose, been sneezing and coughing for a couple days. This morning I woke up with a fever."

"Okay." House said. "Why you coming to me?"

"Dad said if you tell him he's freaking out over nothing, he won't keep me here this time. He'll send me home." Marina looked at House hopefully, praying he'd do just that.

"How high a fever?" House asked as he popped two Vicodin in his mouth.

"100 this morning." Wilson said. "Seems to be holding."

"Any other symptoms?" House asked.

"Dad says my eyes are red."

House got off the desk and inspected her eyes. They did appear to be bloodshot.

"How much have you slept since you got sick?" House asked.

"No more than twenty or thirty minutes at a time. Maybe four hours total a night." Marina told him.

House felt Marina's forehead, then took a moment to study the looks on Marina and Wilson's faces. Marina clearly wanted to go home and get into bed. Wilson was obviously worried about her and wanted her to stay in the hospital. House thought about agreeing with Wilson. He knew that if he didn't he'd hear about it for days. But given the fact that Marina really only had a small fever and that she mostly had symptoms of the flu, he decided to side with her for once.

"You've got the flu." House said. "Take her home and put her to bed."

Marina looked relieved. "Thank you, House."

"House, are you sure?" Wilson asked him.

"Yeah. Take her home, let her sleep. She'll be okay in a few days." House said. "Bring her back if she gets worse."

Wilson was prepared to argue with House, but when he saw the smile on Marina's face, he decided not to. The three of them talked a few more minutes, ending with House making Marina promise that she'd tell her dad or him if she felt worse. Wilson walked with her down the hall to his office. Marina walked in and laid down on the couch while Wilson pulled the blinds and got out a blanket and two pillows that he kept in the closet. Wilson made sure she was laying down and going to sleep before he left, taking one last look at her as he did. Hoping that he was making the right decision, Wilson walked out and headed to see his patients.


	3. Chapter 2

House had been trying to focus on the case in front of him all morning. Cuddy had pushed it on him. House was paying even less attention than normal. What House had his mind on was Marina. He couldn't place it, but something just didn't seem right about her. He had said flu on a knee jerk reaction, but had started to regret it before she even walked out the door. He had let her go, but only under a promise before she left that she would let someone know if she got worse. House knew that the two of them hadn't left the hospital yet. Marina always came by his office to see him before she left. Lost in his own brain, House briefly drifted off to the first time that he and Marina had met face to face.

_House walked into Wilson's office and started to say something, until he realized that Wilson was not sitting behind the desk. In the space of one second, House wondered why the lights were on in Wilson's office but no one was there. It then hit House that someone else was in the office. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on his cane._

_"Hi."_

_The sound of a small voice in the room startled House. He jumped a little; then felt foolish when he saw the little girl coloring on top of Wilson's coffee table. House had never seen her before, but he figured she was one of Wilson's patients. She looked to be about four or five years old, dressed in a pink Winnie the Pooh shirt with a matching pair of pants. She was grinning up at House._

_"Hi." House answered. "Who are you?"_

_"I'm Marina. Who are you?"_

_"I'm Dr. House."_

_"Are you Dr. Wilson's friend?"_

_"Yeah. Why are you here?" House asked. "Where's your parents?"_

_"They died." Marina said sadly, looking back down at her coloring book._

_"Oh. Sorry." House said awkwardly. "Who's here with you?"_

_"Adele went out to talk to Dr. Wilson." Marina told him._

_That's when it hit House who this little girl was. This was the cancer kid Wilson had told him about, the one whose parents had died in a car wreck after he started treating her. Adele Worthington was the social worker who brought Marina to the hospital every week._

_"You want to color with me?" Marina asked, holding out a purple crayon to House._

_House's first instinct was to say no and turn around and walk out. But something about this kid was magnetic, drawing House into her. House took the crayon from her. He noticed a stuffed giraffe on the table._

_"Who's this guy?" House asked._

_"That's Hippo." Marina said._

_"Hippo?" House asked. "He's not a Hippo."_

_"He wants to be." Marina explained._

_"Oh, I see." House said._

_"He gets to pretend he's a hippo and I get to pretend I'm not sick." Marina said, continuing to color as she talked. She spoke softly, almost in a whisper._

_House stopped and stared at Marina. He realized that, as young as she was, she knew what was going on with her illness, and for a second he was amazed that she was able to hold it together. But before he could say anything, the door opened._

_"House?" Wilson and Adele had walked in. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Just talking." House said. "Nice to meet you." he said to Marina._

_"You too." Marina said._

_House got up to leave, but Marina stopped him._

_"Wait!" she said. Marina tore a page out of her book and held it out to him. "This is for you."_

_House took the page from her. It was the one she'd been working on when he'd walked in. It was a perfectly colored in picture of a kid playing outside. House, to Wilson's amazement, smiled._

_"Thanks." House said, folding it and putting it in his pocket. "See you later."_

House snapped out of his daydream and back to reality when his team walked in. Sure enough, they had cured the patient from earlier. After some back and forth between the team members, Wilson walked back in.

"I'm headed home. House, you want to check in on Marina with me?"

"Sure." House said.

The two of them walked down the hall to Wilson's office, a tense silence between them. Wilson walked in first and was surprised to see Marina sitting up. He turned on the light.

"Honey, what are you doing awake?" Wilson asked.

"My head hurts. Oh." Marina groaned, grabbing her head with both hands. "Turn the light off, please."

Wilson pointed to the light switch next to the door. "House."

House turned the light off and went over to check Marina. He took a closer look at her, which confirmed his suspicions. She was much sicker than she'd seemed earlier. Wilson was checking her forehead.

"You're burning up. The fever's getting worse." Wilson said.

"Yeah." House agreed. "Is the light brighter than normal?"

"Yes." Marina responded painfully.

"Bad migraine?" Wilson asked, secretly hoping that was all it was.

"It's not a migraine." Marina said. "It feels worse than that."

Wilson felt his heart tighten in his chest. From fear, worry, anxiety, he didn't know. Most likely a mix of all three. Marina had suffered migraines before, so he believed her when she told him it was something worse.

Marina looked up at House and her father with tears in her eyes. "Help." she begged.

"Get her admitted." House said. "She's my next case."

Wilson nodded and helped Marina up off the couch. He put his arm around her shoulder. He started walking her towards the door, where he intended to call for a wheelchair before taking her to the elevator up to admitting. Suddenly Wilson felt Marina's body slump in his arms, and he realized she had fainted.

"Marina. Marina!" Wilson almost shouted. "WE NEED HELP IN HERE!" he screamed out the door.

A flood of nurses came in, and Wilson went into overdrive. Marina was taken from him up to the emergency room, where Wilson followed. House went up with them, mostly to keep Wilson focused on the task at hand. When he was confident Marina was about to get into a room, he called his team back.


	4. Chapter 3

While House discussed the case down the hall, Wilson sat next to Marina's bed, holding her hand and beating himself up over allowing Marina and House to talk him out of getting her checked over. Marina was sleeping now; she was on medication for the symptoms she had displayed so far, but her fever was holding steady at 102.6. Wilson didn't remember the last time he'd felt this helpless. He'd felt scared, he'd felt nervous, and he'd felt upset when dealing with her before. But rarely did he ever feel like there was nothing he could do to help. But as House had pointed out, Marina was his daughter, and he needed to stay with her while House worked on treating her.

Wilson didn't know how long he'd been at the hospital, but the sun was going down now. Marina had been sleeping for a while. Wilson's mind had mostly been wandering. One particular memory stuck out.

_Wilson made sure Marina was comfortable, sitting down and receiving her treatment before he walked into the hallway with Adele. Marina had been unusually quiet today, and Wilson wanted to find out why._

_"Marina, we'll be in the hallway if you need us, okay?" Adele said._

_"'Kay." Marina answered sadly._

_Wilson and Adele walked out, Adele looking back at Marina. Wilson put his back to the wall back but made sure he could see Marina._

_"What's going on with her?" Wilson asked._

_"What do you mean?" Adele responded._

_"Normally, she's happy, she's talking, she's playing. Today she's just kind of…"_

_"Sad?" Adele asked._

_"Yeah." Wilson responded._

_Adele sighed. "It's her sixth birthday."_

_Wilson was stunned. "What?"_

_Adele nodded. "Yeah. It's her birthday. Her first one without…"_

_"Without her parents." Wilson said. "Poor kid." He kicked himself mentally. He should have known that._

_"Yeah."_

_"We could have waited a day to do this." Wilson said._

_"I know. I told her this morning I would call you and ask that. Maybe take her out for her birthday. But she said no." Adele told him._

_"I wonder why." Wilson asked, more to himself than to anyone else._

_"She wouldn't give me a reason." Adele said. "How is she doing?"_

_"She's getting better and better every week." Wilson told her. He thought of something else. "What's gonna happen to her?"_

_"She stays at the group home till she finds another foster family or she's adopted." Adele told him._

_"What are her chances of getting adopted?" Wilson asked._

_"While she's sick? Not great." Adele answered. "Which is a shame, cause this is when she needs a family the most."_

_Wilson looked at Marina, who was now halfheartedly playing with a toy the nurse had given to her. Wilson hadn't told anyone this, not even House. But he had seriously been considering trying to adopt Marina. He was divorced, had no kids of his own even though he'd always wanted them, and felt attached to Marina. A different kind of attached than to his other patients her age. He hadn't told House because of a fear of being accused of only wanting to adopt Marina because she was "needy". But Wilson had continued to struggle with the decision. Until now._

_"What are my chances of being able to adopt her?" Wilson asked._

_Adele stared at him, shocked. "Are you serious?"_

_"Yeah." Wilson said._

_Adele smiled. "Pretty good, I think."_

_"Really?" Wilson seemed surprised._

_"Absolutely. She trusts you, you're good with kids, you're financially stable. I can't guarantee anything, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't." Adele said. She took a deep breath and looked like she might cry from happiness. "This is great."_

_Wilson was smiling now too. "Yeah, I can't believe it either."_

_"Why don't we tell her now?" Adele suggested._

_"I don't want to get her hopes up in case…" Wilson started._

_"Look at me." Adele said. Wilson turned and looked her in the eye. "As long as I'm supporting you, the chances of you being denied are slim to none."_

_"What about her parent's families?" Wilson asked._

_Adele shook her head sadly. "Both her dad's parents are dead. So are mom's. He had one brother, died over twenty years ago. Mom was an only child."_

_Wilson knew about all that, having taken Marina's family history when she was admitted the first time. The week he had diagnosed her with cancer._

_"There's nobody else?" he asked._

_"Nope." Adele answered. She took Wilson's arm. "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_Wilson looked back at Marina. She was looking a little better, with a nurse playing with her and attempting to make her laugh. Wilson realized that what he said next would change his whole life. He also realized that he didn't care._

_"Yes."_

_"Alright." Adele was grinning ear to ear. "Congratulations, Dr. Wilson. It's a girl."_

"Dad?"

Wilson was snapped out of his daydream. Marina was awake and looking at him. Her eyes were still red, but seemed to be a little better. Her skin was still pale and she was sweating bullets. The fever wasn't going down.

"Hey." Wilson smiled.

"Hey." Marina responded weakly. "What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital." Wilson explained. "You remember what happened?"

Marina nodded. "What's wrong with me?" she asked.

Wilson sighed. "We don't know. House is working on it now."

"I'm House's case?" she asked.

Wilson nodded.

"Cool." Marina smiled a little, an encouraging sign to Wilson.

"How you feeling?" Wilson asked. "Any better?"

"The headache's a little better." Marina told him. A terrifying thought occurred to her. "Dad, is it back?"

"What…" Wilson then realized what she was asking. "No. House tested you while you were out. It's not the cancer."

Marina seemed relieved. "Do you know what House is thinking?" she asked.

Wilson couldn't help but be amazed. Even as sick as she was, Marina was curious about what was going on with her. Wilson took her hand.

"I haven't talked to House yet. You need to rest." He said.

"'Kay." Marina responded. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"Sorry for what?" Wilson asked, confused as to what she possibly had to be sorry about.

"I should have listened to you." Marina said, starting to cough again.

"Honey, don't worry about that." Wilson said. "You want some water?"

"Yeah."

Wilson poured her a small glass of water and helped her drink, then helped her sit up. He was amazed that she was even awake. He sat and tried to comfort her for a few minutes, until he felt he could no longer wait.

"I'll be back. I'm gonna find House and see if they've come up with anything." Wilson said. He got up and turned towards the door to go.

"Daddy."

Wilson turned back. Marina was holding her hand out.

"I'm scared." she said, starting to cry again. "Don't go, please."

Wilson sat back down, grabbed Marina's hand and sat on the edge of the bed. He wrapped an arm around her as she leaned into his chest, sobbing. As he'd had to do so many times before, he stroked her hair, held her hand, and mumbled to her that she would be okay.


	5. Chapter 4

House sat in his office, surrounded by his team, feeling almost the same helplessness that Wilson was feeling down the hall. He listened halfheartedly as the team threw around ideas, tapping his cane on the floor and considering ideas of his own. Cough, runny nose, fever, flushed skin, headache, and bloodshot eyes. What, put together, could explain all these symptoms? House had tested her right away to see if the cancer had come back. Thankfully, it hadn't. But while Marina wasn't getting any worse, most likely due to the medication for the fever, she wasn't getting any better either. Like Wilson, House was also lost in his mind, thinking of the first time he'd realized how much he liked Marina.

_House sat down on his couch and took a deep breath. He had finally gotten Marina to sleep. He wondered how exactly he had let Wilson talk him into babysitting. House had thought it would be easy, so he'd bet Wilson he could do it with no problem. But Marina had terrorized him all night. She had refused to eat dinner, fallen off the back of his couch and cried for an hour over what amounted to no more than a scrape, and refused to go to bed until just under thirty minutes ago. She had made House read her three books that she had in her backpack before finally laying down to go to sleep. House laid his head back and started to drift off to sleep himself, but groaned when he heard his name from the corner of the room._

_"House?"_

_"What?" he said through clenched teeth._

_"I can't sleep."_

_House was almost ready to admit defeat. Until he got a brilliant idea. Only when he had an epiphany in the middle of a case was he more impressed. He looked at Marina with a grin._

_"Come here." he said._

_Marina walked over to him and climbed in his lap._

_"I have a business deal for you." House told her._

_"What's that?" Marina asked._

_"You do something for me, I'll do something for you." House explained._

_"Okay." Marina said, listening intently._

_"You had fun tonight?" House asked._

_"Yeah." Marina smiled._

_"Yeah. Me too." House said, lying through his teeth. "But here's what I'm thinking. Your dad said that if nothing happened to you tonight, he'd pay me for babysitting. So, if you don't tell him about falling off the couch, I'll split the pay with you."_

_Marina may have only been seven and a half, but House could see her thinking about his offer. She smiled a bit._

_"How you gonna keep daddy from finding out you paid me?" Marina asked. "I don't want to lie to him."_

_House was semi-impressed. "That's a good question." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a $10. "Here. This is half of what you're dad's gonna give me."_

_Marina took it and put it in the pocket of her pajamas. "Deal." she said enthusiastically, holding her hand out to House._

_House shook her hand and sealed the deal._

_At that same moment, a knock at the door startled House and Marina. The two of them jumped, then laughed when they realized how silly it was for them to be scared. House signaled for Marina to get the door, and as he thought, there was Wilson._

_"Daddy!"_

_"Hey, you!" Wilson greeted her. "What are you still doing up? It's almost eleven." he asked as he picked her up and hugged her._

_"I couldn't sleep." she told him._

_"You okay?" he asked, moving over to House's couch with Marina._

_"Yep." Marina said, still grinning._

_Wilson couldn't hold it in anymore. "Did you do it?"_

_Marina giggled and nodded._

_"Good girl." Wilson said. He pulled a ten out of his pocket and handed it to her._

_"What the…?" House asked, taken aback._

_"I told her I'd pay her if she made the night hell for you." Wilson said. "Based on how you look right now, she put you through the ringer."_

_House looked at Marina, stunned at how she'd played him. "You conniving little hustler."_

_Marina smiled in triumph, then put her dad's ten in her pocket with House's. "Got ya." she taunted._

_"What's going on with you two?" Wilson asked, partially afraid of the answer._

_"House paid me not to tell you about the scrape on my knee." Marina said._

_Wilson lifted both her pajama pants and pointed to the scrape on her left knee. Her right was clear. "That one?"_

_"Yep." Marina said._

_Wilson put everything together and started laughing hysterically. When he had finally regained his composure, he told House the full truth._

_"She got that three days ago. Falling off the swings at school." Wilson told him. "What did you think happened?"_

_Marina looked to House, who shrugged in defeat, giving her permission to tell him._

_"He thinks I fell off the couch." Marina said._

_"You didn't?" House said. "You told me…"_

_"I didn't tell you anything." Marina responded._

_House thought back and realized she was right. He hadn't actually seen Marina fall, just heard a thump and saw her sprawled on the ground behind the couch._

_"So what happened?"_

_"I jumped." Marina answered, yawning._

_"Off the couch?" Wilson asked, alarmed._

_"Nope." Marina grinned. "Just jumped."_

_House smiled and-Wilson teased him about this for years-blushed. He was a master at playing games, and he had been successfully played by a seven year old. House realized that Marina was bright and intelligent, and he respected that._

_"Well played." House said. "Well played."_

_"Thanks." Marina said, yawning as she placed her head on Wilson's shoulder._

_Wilson took his cue. "I'm glad you had fun, kid. But it's time to go home. Time for bed." He stood and picked up Marina's backpack._

_"'Kay." Marina said. "G'night, House."_

_"Goodnight."_

"House."

House came back to reality abruptly when Thirteen got in his face. Apparently he had been daydreaming longer than he thought. He had half heard what the team had said.

"It's not the flu." House said, shooting down Taub's theory. "The cancer isn't back. Give her an LP to test for meningitis."

"House, that's not.." Taub started to say.

"I know it isn't likely." House said. "Just do it."

"Okay." Taub said, and started to get up to go do it.

"Wait." House said. "I'll handle it."

House got up and left the room, leaving the team stunned. House never talked to patients except to gain information for a diagnosis or to figure something out about them. One thing he never did was perform procedures. Taub knew that House cared about Wilson. He knew that House liked Marina. He had figured House wanted to cure Marina as a favor to his best friend, but Taub saw now that House genuinely cared for her.

"Guys, let's see what we can do." Taub told the rest of the team, who was still sitting at the table.


	6. Chapter 5

Marina was sitting up in her bed, half attempting to eat a tray of food that was in front of her. House walked in, encouraged to see her awake. Her color looked about the same, and her temperature appeared to be holding steady. She seemed to be improving slowly. But House knew that even if she got completely better right now, he would never be able to rest until he knew for sure what had made her sick. Marina saw him standing in the doorway.

"Uh oh. Must be bad news." she said.

"What do you mean?" House asked.

"You don't ever see patients." Marina said. "And that look on your face kind of worries me."

House smiled. "I can't get anything past you, can I?"

"What are you thinking, House?" Wilson asked.

House dealt with Marina first. "How you feeling?"

"I'm really starting to hate that question." Marina said.

"Sorry." House replied, smirking. She really did remind him of himself sometimes.

Marina saw the needle in his hand. "Uh oh. I've seen that before."

"I know you hate it." House said. "But it might tell me what's wrong with you."

"It'll make the headache worse." Marina said, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah." House agreed apologetically.

Marina bit her lip. She'd had to have this test a couple times before, and it always gave her a major headache. House offered an alternative to the usual.

"We can give you something to help sleep right after the test." he assured her. "You can sleep through the headache."

Marina looked as though she didn't believe him. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

Marina nodded. She trusted House, but she also enjoyed giving him a hard time. She knew he enjoyed it too. Marina turned over and Wilson sat in front of her.

"Before I do this, though, I do need to know. You feeling any new symptoms?" House asked, preparing to do the test.

"Feel a little weak." she said.

House didn't respond, just started to do the test. He saw Wilson holding Marina's hand, then heard the alarm in his voice.

"House, stop!"

House had the needle less than an inch from Marina's spine, but pulled it away sharply at Wilson's panicked warning. When he realized what had gotten Wilson so scared, House called into the hallway for help.

Marina was having a seizure.


	7. Chapter 6

Wilson paced Marina's room over and over, now ignoring House's advice to not have anything to do with Marina's case. It had been six hours since her seizure. Marina had been on a slow but steady decline ever since. Her fever had climbed to 102.8. She'd become confused around four o'clock that morning, thinking Wilson was House and vice versa. She was sedated now, but the possibility of her slipping into a coma was becoming more and more realistic. The door opened and Wilson expected House to be coming back. Instead, it was Cameron.

"What's going on?" Wilson asked.

"Nothing new." Cameron said. "Foreman and Chase are still doing whatever tests they can think of."

"It's been over three hours." Wilson said. "What's taking so long?"

"House has them testing for whatever they can think of." Cameron replied. "I came to check on you."

"I'm fine." Wilson said, lack of sleep starting to make him short tempered.

"You're not fine." Cameron argued. "You've been up for over twenty four hours."

"I'll sleep once she's okay." Wilson responded.

Cameron walked to Wilson and took his arm. "It won't do her any good if you make yourself sick too."

Wilson didn't respond, but a look of guilt crossed his face.

"What is it?" Cameron asked.

"I told her mother that. Ten years ago when she had her first round of cancer." Wilson told her. "Her mom went out that night with her dad. They had some dinner, went home to get a shower and some real sleep. I was on call that night, so I told them I'd sit with her."

"That was nice of you." Cameron said.

"They died that night." Wilson said. "I had to tell her the next morning." Wilson looked at Marina sadly. "She begged me to stay. I can't leave her."

"So go to your office." Cameron insisted. "Lay down on the couch. If anything happens, if she wakes up, you're seconds away. I'll be here the whole time."

Wilson knew she was right. As much as he wanted to be here the entire time, he knew if he didn't get some sleep soon he'd probably collapse. Wilson nodded and thanked Cameron, then started to head out to his office to do as Cameron suggested. House appeared in the doorway.

"Cameron, go help Foreman and Chase with the tests. You," House said, pointing at Wilson, "go sleep in your office. For at least six hours. I'll sit with her."

Wilson was stunned. In almost ten years, House had never once volunteered to babysit. In any other situation, Wilson might have been suspicious, believing the two of them were up to something. But this time he only felt gratitude.

"Thanks, House." Wilson remarked, walking out the door like a zombie.

House only nodded, then pulled up the chair Wilson had been using next to Marina's bed. He felt numb. Like all the curiosity that was so natural to him had been sucked out and replaced with a growing worry and dread. House checked her fever, out of habit more than a belief that he'd be able to do anything. 102.9. House would see that number in his dreams, if he ever would be able to sleep.

House looked at Marina's face and felt his heart sink a little. He'd seen her go through two rounds of cancer before age fifteen. He'd seen her sick a hundred times, but he'd never seen her miserable. The look on her face in House's office the previous morning would be one that would haunt House for the rest of his life. Maybe that was what had caused House's doubt about letting Marina go yesterday. Her symptoms at the time all pointed to the flu, so there was no reason to really keep her in the hospital. But House's gut, the same one that had helped him diagnose hundreds of people before, was telling him that something else was wrong with her. Why hadn't he listened to himself? Maybe if he had, she'd be okay now.

STOP IT! House berated himself. Playing the blame game wouldn't help Marina. He had to focus on the puzzle. What could explain all her symptoms? Not knowing for sure if it would help, House did something he had seen other families do which he thought was idiotic. He took Marina's hand in his.

"I love you, kid. I'm gonna figure out what's wrong with you, but you gotta keep fighting too. Okay?"

A beep went off on one of the monitors. House decided to do another check on Marina. He checked her reflexes and pain responses and his heart sank. She was officially in a coma. House decided to wait and tell Wilson what was going on when he woke up. Wilson would feel the need to try and do something, and there was nothing he could really do right then. House leaned back to go to sleep, still going over the puzzle in his mind.


	8. Chapter 7

_Wilson sat next to Marina's bed, watching her chest rise and fall as she slept. He had been off for several hours now, but felt he had to stay to give Marina the news about her parents himself. Wilson thought back to the conversation he'd had with Abigail just twelve hours earlier. She had been at the hospital almost constantly every day for a week. Marina was getting better, and Wilson was worried Abigail might collapse and need some hospital care herself. She couldn't have gotten more than a couple hours sleep every night. Wilson had convinced her, along with Kevin, her husband, to go home and sleep in their own bed for a night. But they had never made it. Four blocks away from the hospital, and less than a mile from their home, the two of them had been hit at seventy miles an hour by a guy who was too drunk to know that he was too drunk to drive._

_"Dr. Wilson?"_

_Wilson was startled. He hadn't heard Marina wake up, but she was looking at him through groggy eyes. Wilson felt another pang of guilt. Why had he practically made them go when they wanted to stay with their daughter? Wilson was resigned to having to tell parents about the death of their kids. But he was not looking forward to his first experience of telling a kid, especially a patient, that her parents were dead._

_"Hey." Wilson smiled, attempting to calm her._

_"Where's my mommy?" she asked._

_Wilson swallowed the lump in his throat. "Honey, I have something to tell you."_

_"What?" Marina asked._

_"Your mommy and daddy went home to get some sleep earlier." Wilson explained._

_"Are they coming back in the morning?" Marina asked._

_The lump grew bigger. "No." Wilson sighed. "They got hurt, sweetie. They were hit by a car."_

_"Are they okay?" Marina asked, frightened._

_"No. I'm sorry, sweetheart. They died."_

_Wilson felt the lump grow bigger as he watched Marina process what she'd just been told. She sat up and gripped her stuffed giraffe even tighter and looked as though she might throw up. This, to Wilson, was the hardest part. Waiting on Marina to see exactly what it meant that her parents were gone._

_"What's gonna happen to me?" Marina asked._

_"Well," Wilson started, pulling Marina into his lap. "We called some people from the city to come get you when you're ready to leave. They take care of kids who need someone." Wilson explained, feeling as though he had bungled it._

_"I want my mommy and daddy." Marina said, the tears starting to flow._

"I NEED A CRASH CART IN HERE!"

Wilson jumped off his couch at the sound of the shout. He realized he'd been dreaming; it had been over ten years since that conversation with Marina. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping, but the sun was out now. When he realized that the shout he'd heard was House's, Wilson ripped open the door to his office and sprinted down the hall. He stopped at Marina's door and felt his whole body go numb. Marina's heart had stopped.

Wilson watched as House continued the familiar call of 'charge' and 'clear', feeling his chest constrict in fear. He didn't know how long he watched, but to Wilson it felt like forever. He felt frozen to the floor. He was afraid if he moved, if he went in the room, Marina really would be gone forever. House eventually got Marina's heart started again, but when she didn't wake up, Wilson realized that she had gone into a coma while he was sleeping. House came out to meet him in the hallway.

"House, what….?" Wilson asked.

"She went into full arrest." House told him. "She's back, no better, no worse than before."

"House, what's wrong with her?" Wilson asked, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't know. We're still…" House said.

"Still checking?" Wilson said, frustrated. "House, if this was anyone else, you'd have had them treated by now and just hoped it worked."

"She's different…." House started.

"NO!" Wilson almost shouted. "No, House. You don't treat her any different, okay?"

House was so shocked he was speechless.

Wilson realized he was unraveling. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." House whispered.

"No. No, it isn't." Wilson was shaking. "Two days ago, she had a runny nose." He pointed in Marina's room. "That's my little girl, House."

"I know." House said. He smiled.

Wilson was taken aback. "What could possibly be funny?"

"I was just thinking about when you first tried to convince me of that."

_"Are you an idiot?"_

_Wilson smiled. That was exactly the reaction he had expected from House. He'd talked to Adele over a week ago, had the conversation with Marina about what he wanted to do, and now he had only one more person to tell. He had done this in his mind a hundred times this week, and every time it began with House calling him an idiot._

_"You're taking your need for needy people to a whole new extreme here." House said. "What are you thinking?"_

_"I'm thinking she needs a family, House." Wilson answered. "I'm thinking I want one and I can give her one."_

_Wilson's answer stunned House. He had known that Wilson wanted kids, but didn't realize how badly until just now. Wilson watched House's expression and felt like he was explaining to an older child that a new one was on the way._

_"You okay with this, House?" Wilson asked tentatively._

_House had already thought of a witty comeback. "Will you still love me, daddy?"_

_Wilson chuckled. He was a little surprised that this had gone so well and so quick, but Wilson was relieved it was now over. He realized that the family he always wanted was now in his life._

Wilson smiled along with House. "I'd forgotten all about that."

"I just can't put it together…" House started, before getting interrupted by a bird on Marina's windowsill.

Wilson noticed the look on House's face. "House? Did you just come up with an idea?"

"Yeah." House was almost smiling again. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Wilson asked.

"To find my team."


	9. Chapter 8

Back in the meeting room, Taub, Kutner, and Thirteen had given up running tests and were back at the drawing board. Taub opened his mouth to say something when House and Wilson came in. House didn't say anything, just walked over to the whiteboard, where he'd written Marina's symptoms. He erased everything completely.

"What were her symptoms before she got to the hospital?" House asked, creating two columns, one marked 'home' and the other 'hospital'.

"Sneezing, coughing, runny nose, slight fever, flushed skin, bloodshot eyes." Wilson told him, House writing as fast as he talked.

"After she got here?" House asked.

"Higher fever, headache, weakness, light sensitivity, fainting, dizziness, seizures." Wilson said. "And coma."

House looked at the symptoms and nodded, confirming in black and white what he was thinking in his mind. House put the marker down and looked to Wilson.

"How did Big Bird die?"

Wilson was stunned by the question, but had been around House long enough to know it was faster just to go with it.

"Ah, old age, I assumed." Wilson said. "He was eight years old."

Big Bird was the bird that Marina had found with a broken wing at age eight. She had taken care of it, nursed it back to health for weeks. But two days before Marina had started getting sick, she had woken up to find the bird dead in its cage.

"Have you seen any mosquitoes in the apartment?" House asked.

Wilson was now thoroughly confused. "House, it's December."

"There's some mosquito breeds that come around in the winter." House said. "Maybe you didn't see the mosquito, but did she complain of a bug bite, maybe an itchy…"

"Her arm." Wilson remembered. "She was scratching her arm when I brought her to the hospital."

House smiled. "The bird didn't die of old age."

Foreman was the first to put it together. "West Nile?"

House nodded. "Most cases of West Nile seem like a cold or the flu." House pointed to the column marked home. "Unless they develop some rare complication." House pointed to the column marked hospital.

"Meningitis?" Thirteen asked.

"No." House replied. "Encephalitis."

The excitement of finding the diagnosis quickly faded when Wilson pointed something out. "House, there's no treatment for West Nile."

"I know." House said. "But the encephalitis is making it harder for her to beat the West Nile." House turned to the team. "Treat her for the encephalitis. Her fever should start going down, and she should wake up on her own in a few hours."

The team got up to do what House had told them. Wilson stood at the door watching them go. House watched him, concerned.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I will be." Wilson said. "When she wakes up."

Wilson walked out of the room slowly, heading back down to Marina's room at a snail's pace. Doctors, nurses, orderlies, other patients walked by him and Wilson paid no attention. What he had on his mind was another memory.

_Wilson walked into House's office, yanking open the door in the hope that he would find out what House had been up to. House had been evasive all week, when normally he couldn't wait to seek Wilson out and tell him what he was up to. What he found instead left him speechless. There was a bird on the desk, which House was feeding from his hand. Marina was sitting on House's desk, watching. The two of them were so absorbed in what they were doing they didn't even see Wilson walk in. Wilson closed the door._

_"What's going on?" he asked._

_Marina jumped. "Hi, daddy."_

_"Hi." Wilson walked over to the desk and repeated the question. "What's going on? What are you doing here?"_

_"Ah…" House started._

_But Marina didn't give him the chance to finish. "I found this bird in the parking lot." she explained. "His wing's broken."_

_Wilson realized she was right. "How did you know that?"_

_"He couldn't move." Marina explained. "I brought him to House. He helped me make him feel better."_

_"When was this?" Wilson asked._

_"A week ago." House answered. "She's been coming to the office twice a day to feed him and check on him."_

_Wilson was amazed. Marina had found this bird and instinctively knew what to do. But why had she hidden it from him?_

_"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked._

_"You would have made me take him to the vet and leave him there." Marina explained._

_Wilson's eyes grew big. "You wanna keep him?"_

_Marina nodded, a hopeful look in her eye._

_"Honey, I don't know…" Wilson started._

_"Please?" Marina begged._

_"Pretty please?" House mimicked._

_Wilson sighed and shook his head in defeat. The bird did seem okay, and maybe it would be good for Marina to have a pet. After an annoyed look of 'you're not helping, go away' to House, he turned back to Marina._

_"We will have to take him to the vet. If the vet says he's okay, we'll ask him how to take care of…"_

_"Already done." House said. He reached in his desk drawer and pulled out a folder from the vet's office._

_"What? When?" Wilson asked. Then he remembered. "The dinner Tuesday night."_

_"Yeah." House said. "I really did have to go to the doctor."_

_Wilson sighed again, giving up the fight. Marina was still waiting on an answer, but Wilson had something else on his mind._

_"There's one more thing you have to do." Wilson said._

_"What?" Marina asked._

_"You have to tell me how you get him to listen to you."_

_Marina smiled. "Thanks, daddy."_

_"You're welcome, honey." He and Marina shared a quick hug, and Wilson took a closer look at the bird. "So what's his name?"_

_"Big Bird." Marina said._

_"BIG BIRD?" House answered with mock disdain. "I helped you save the life of a Sesame Street character?"_

_Marina jumped off House's desk and walked around to his chair. She stood up on her tiptoes, hugging House's neck and kissing him on the cheek._

_"Thanks, House." she said._

_Wilson was amazed when he saw a smile on House's face. "You're welcome, kiddo." He winked at Marina. "Now you two get out of here."_

_Marina walked around to her father, gesturing for him to bend down so she could whisper something in his ear._

_"That's how I do it." she whispered, making Wilson laugh and House smile._

Wilson watched House and the rest of the team come in and start the treatment that House had ordered. House pulled up a chair next to the one Wilson had pulled up next to the bed. Wilson noticed that he had something in his hand. It was Hippo, Marina's old, ratty, stuffed giraffe that she had given House years earlier when he'd been in the hospital for some crazy stunt he'd pulled. Wilson came in and joined him, waiting for Marina to wake.


	10. Chapter 9

Marina opened her eyes slowly and carefully. The room was bright, way too bright. She squinted, but realized that her head didn't hurt. She focused her vision and looked around the room.

It had been at least a day, but Marina didn't think it had been longer than that. She still felt sick, but not nearly as much as she had. House must have found out what was wrong with her, just as she knew he would.

Marina felt something soft under her arm. She lifted it up and smiled. House had brought Hippo back to her. She hugged him to her and looked next to her bed. Her dad was there, sleeping, and House was right next to him.

"Dad."

Wilson stirred and opened his eyes. He jumped when he realized that Marina's voice hadn't been a dream.

"Hey." he smiled. "How you feeling?"

"Better." she said.

"It's about time." House had woken up after he'd heard Wilson talking.

Marina smiled. "You still look like crap." she croaked.

House and Wilson both laughed, while House got up to check on her. Her fever was way down, her skin color was starting to return, and her eyes were no longer bloodshot.

"Your headache gone?" House asked.

"Yeah." Marina answered. "What did I have?"

"West Nile virus." Wilson told her.

"You're kidding." Marina said. "How…" Marina put it together almost as fast as House had. "Big Bird." she said sadly.

"Yeah. Sorry, babe." Wilson nodded.

House finished checking Marina. "You're gonna have to stay here for a few days. But you're gonna be fine."

"Thanks, House." she said. "By the way, I heard what you said." Marina sat up in her bed, with Wilson's assistance.

"What are you talking about?" House asked.

"When I was out."

"That's impossible. You were in a coma." House argued.

Marina smiled. "I love you too, House."

Wilson, for once, was the one to break the mood. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Marina laughed. "Love you too, Dad." A thought came to her. "What day is it?"

"Sunday." Wilson answered.

"No, the date."

"The 16th." House said.

Marina smiled. "You still got the package?"

House nodded and pulled a box out from under his seat. "Yep."

Wilson was amazed. "You've been in a coma for two days. How the hell have you two been scheming?"

"Relax." House answered, handing the package to Wilson. "She gave me this weeks ago."

"Happy birthday, dad." Marina said.

Wilson, amazed, opened the gift. Inside was a double paned picture frame, with two photos. The one on the left was of Marina with her parents, taken at the hospital not long before they died. On the other side was a picture House had taken of the two of them, outside the courthouse the day that Marina's adoption had been finalized. Wilson remembered it with a tear in his eye.

_Wilson walked out of the courtroom carrying Marina, House and Adele following closely behind him. When they got outside, Wilson put Marina down, adjusting her coat for the weather outside. Adele was smiling, House was being House, and Marina was looking apprehensive._

_"You okay, sweetie?" Wilson asked._

_"I guess." she answered._

_"What's wrong, honey?" Adele asked her._

_"What did that all mean in there?" Marina asked, looking from Wilson to Adele to House._

_"Well," Adele said, bending down to Marina's eye level, "do you remember me talking to you about going to live with a family permanently?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, Dr. Wilson is gonna be that family." Adele explained. "He's gonna take care of you now that your mommy and daddy can't."_

_Marina still seemed a little apprehensive. She looked up to Wilson._

_"No more moving?" She asked the both of them._

_Adele's heart broke. That was what Marina had been worried about. In the year since Marina's parents had died, she'd lived in four foster homes, none longer than a couple of months. She had always ended up back at the group home because the family, no matter how well meaning, inevitably ended up being unable or unwilling to take care of a child who had cancer._

_Wilson bent down next to Adele, taking Marina's hand._

_"No more moving." Wilson assured her. "We're a team now. A family."_

_"You promise?" Marina asked. "This is forever?"_

_"Cross my heart." Wilson answered, smiling. He put a hand on his heart and a hand on hers. "Always and forever."_

"Dad, you okay?" Marina asked.

Wilson came back to reality. "Yeah. Why?"

"You're crying." Marina answered. "Look on the bottom."

Wilson hadn't seen it at first, but Marina had inscribed on the bottom the words "Always and Forever-Love, Marina". Wilson wiped the tear away from his eye.

"Do you like it?" Marina asked.

"I love it." Wilson answered. "And I love you. Thank you, honey."

House took his opportunity to ruin the family bonding moment. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Marina and Wilson laughed. House got out the scrabble board, Marina's favorite game, and proceeded to, as he would phrase it at the end of the game to Marina, let her beat him at it soundly.


End file.
